Can DIY painting achieve a professional finish for halls and downstairs?

[Letthesunshine1234]

I have been quoted £15k to paint my hallway and downstairs in house. I don’t have the budget for this. Has anyone managed to master DIY painting to a professional standard and if yes how? I would need to do ceilings, walls and woodwork.

I generally do my own painting, but after a ceiling leak we got several quotes. It came no where near £15k. How many days were they doing? Do you live in Buckingham palace? If not, those quotes are ott. Our man did it all in for £2k and wallpapered one wall and painted doors, frames and trims.

Definitely doable. Get decent paint and watch some tutorials. Practice on one wall first.

Harris paint brushes are definitely the best, I personally love B&Q own brand paint - if you can find a colour you like it's brilliant, covers well and offers different finishes.

My top tip for rollers is...chuck them in the washing machine to clean them! Honestly, they come out beautifully (water based paint only obviously!)

£15 k is definitely giving me the kick to try it. I’m going to start with my home office as it’s the smallest room. As another poster said earlier my husband is also a terrible painter so I don’t want him doing it 😂

You are completely correct- I could buy a new car for £15k and to be honest I do need one in the not so distant future

I know it sounds completely crazy but this is honestly the price. My house is a detached property so fairly big - the quotes did not include windows

Brilliant tip - I would never have thought about the washing machine. Did you use washing powder?

I don’t live in a palace 🤣 honestly painting is very expensive where I live. I wish I could have mine done for £3K

Thank you for the tips

Can you recommend a good filler brand that is ok for a novice and brand of filler tool?

My paint jobs have been better than the so-called professional I had!

Tbh I find my DIY painting is just as good as professionals, if not better, as I spend a lot of time on prep. It's time consuming but get the right kit and it's not that tricky, especially if you can work with someone else. I'd get (or borrow) a good handheld sander for the woodwork, and decent cutting in brushes (I don't bother with tape for edges, if you have the right kind of brush you don't need to use tape), some caulk and a caulking gun, plus filler, rollers, trays and sandpaper. For filler, I've started using powdered stuff that you mix yourself - much better than polyfilla in a tube. Dulux is good paint, as is Coat. Don't use vinyl based paints like Valspar. A durable, scrubbable paint for hallway areas is always sensible. Having said all of this, I wouldn't paint walls up against stairs and I'm not keen on doing ceilings. I was always afraid of doing skirting but it's actually very easy, you get a good finish with some silk paint.

Why don't you try doing a bit OP and see how you get on?

@Letthesunshine1234yes, washing powder but not softener

The trend now is to paint everything, walls, ceiling, skirting etc all the same colour so that makes it easier to hide any mistakes. Separate white ceilings & woodwork look dated now. Water based paints are easier to work with too so I think you’ll be well able to do it.

The secret to getting a professional finish is to do the prep work well. Make sure you go around filling every single dint or hole no matter how small. Then sand down walls to make them smooth. Then apply a mist coat that is watered down paint. Then use a roller to give 3 coats of good quality paint. Make sure it is fully dry in between each coat. Use the special roller for corners and a radiator roller to get behind the radiator. Use masking tape to protect ceiling. The quote you received is ridiculous and a rip off. You can do it bit by bit. Don't try to do too much in one session. Try for 2 or 3 1 hour sessions each day until it's complete.

I'm fussy about the finish on my walls. I had a decorator recently who used a spray machine and the end product was amazing, so smooth.

If I do the painting myself, especially the gloss, it looks like I've used a toothbrush to apply it.

Yep. My husband and I are DIY painting masters 😅 We’re selling our house at the moment and the estate agent asked if the stencil feature walls were done professionally as he thought they were wallpaper at first.

As to how… just practice I suppose!

I've painted every room in our house but I always pay for the staircase. It's just a job too far for me.

We've had really bad experiences with decorators and wasted a lot of money. Recently found one that is fantastic and charges £195 a day, we're in the South. £15k is a LOT! I've done a lot of decorating in the past and agree that paint pads are really good and easier than rollers of you don't have great upper body strength.

Go for it OP! Honestly it’ll be a huge sense of achievement, and even if there are some not so perfect bits, you’ll honestly forget them.

I think the brushes brand I used was Hamilton, I’ll check later.

Yes, I've used Hamilton in the past for cutting in and then a pad for the rest as don't get on with rollers.

I agree with the poster who said it's worth getting your bannisters / hallway done professionally if you can't access high ceilings easily.

I really rate Dulux trade quick dry satin wood for woodwork.

I’ve been inspired to try it. I will start one small room. Anyone got any filler brands? I was recommended to use the powder and mix myself - any particular brand names? Also how much are the dust extraction systems?

I'm nut sure what a dust extractor system is- get a Titan vacuum from Screwfix that'll save you buggering up your home vacuum.

I'd just start off with some ready mixed Polyfilla to start with, see how you go.

Toupret is good